Editorials

By Dave Andrusko

THANKS TO YOU!

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."

Harriet Beecher Stowe, author, Uncle Tom's Cabin

"The purpose of the study was not just to discover whose reputations for influence are the strongest but also to explain why that is. Money plays an enormous role in explaining political influence, whether it is spent on lobbying, campaign contributions or television advertising. That said, money is not all that matters. The results show that interest groups boost their reputations through reliable lobbying, grassroots organization and strategic coalition building."

Michael T. Heaney, writing in The Hill, October 1

One of the most humbling experiences someone who works at the national level can experience is to deliver a speech to grassroots pro-lifers and then be inundated with lavish praise about how "great" you are, how "we couldn't do it without you," or "thanks for all you are doing." It is exceptionally kind but this really does put the cart before the horse!

Whenever I try to make the crucial point that NRLC--while blessed with enormously dedicated people here in the Washington, D.C. office--is nothing ,zero, nada without the support of hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers around the nation, people see this as reason to compliment me on one more thing: "modesty." But it is nothing other than the simple, unvarnished, always-been, always-will-be truth. NRLC is listened to because of your voices, not ours!

Even I have trouble sometimes grasping how much influence NRLC is able to exert. If you take a moment out to compare number of staff, budget, and the like, you'll see that NRLC is competing against some real high rollers - - the kind whose outlays for tips are probably larger than our entire budget.

But year in and year out, people on the Hill understand that when NRLC presents its case, it is speaking for thousands and thousands of local pro-lifers spread out all over the country. This translates into real influence on behalf of unborn babies and the medically dependent elderly.

But don't take my word for it. Consider the perceptive analysis of Michael T. Heaney, a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago, who investigated the comparable "pull" of 171 "interest groups" on congressional health care policy. His article in the newspaper The Hill is a thoughtful distillation of a paper he delivered last August to the American Political Science Association.

To investigate reputations for influence, Heaney went to the source: congressional staffers, 95 of 'em. He offered a list of 171 "interest groups" and then asked the staffers to respond to four questions: (1) how "key" a mover the group is; (2) how often do they talk to the group; (3) how reliable is its information; and (4) "Who is especially well-organized in your district or state."

The top seven included the likes of the AMA, AARP, the Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO - - mammoth heavyweights whose footsteps make the halls of Congress shake. Their presence on the list merely confirms the conventional wisdom.

But guess who was the eighth most influential group on health care policy, just behind the National Governors Association?

NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE.

Guess who finished 12th and 14th, respectively?

Planned Parenthood and NARAL.

If you think about this, this is really quite extraordinary. As the quotation from Heaney that begins this editorial indicates, it doesn't hurt to have gobs of money. All of the groups ahead of NRLC (with the exception, presumably, of the National Governors Association) have more money than Alaska has snow. Many had gobs of members as well. No doubt they also have staffers by the dozens roaming the halls of Congress.

So, how can it be that National Right to Life is able to shape health care policy with the best of them? We know there are two reasons.

The first is the extraordinarily dedicated people in the Legislative and Medical Ethics Departments here at NRLC who work insane hours to protect the unborn and the medically vulnerable.

But, second, as they would be the first to tell you, at the end of the day what matters is you!

NRLC's public policy analysts can be as persuasive as Socrates, as inventive as Thomas Edison as brilliant as Einstein, and as dedicated to helping the helpless as David Livingston and they'd have a minimal impact were it not that staffers and their bosses know that YOU stand behind them.

Please: continue what you do best. Make sure Congress knows where you stand on the pressing issues of the moment, including (to name just two) changes in Medicare that, if not carefully thought through, could result in involuntary euthanasia, and the Unborn Victims of Abortion Act. (See the action alerts on the back cover and page 32.)

Another very important reason NRLC is listened to is because of the accuracy and thoughtfulness of the letters you write. Staffers and their bosses know that you know your stuff and can't be hoodwinked. We like to think that is in part due to National Right to Life News.

Thanks to what you have done, the tide is turning. To borrow from Harriet Beecher Stowe, you never blinked when times were toughest.

I am proud to serve with you, as is every member of the National Right to Life staff. You not only teach the truth about compassion, mercy, and justice, you embody it.

Thank you for all that you are doing - - past, present, and future - - on behalf of those who cannot defend themselves.

dave andrusko can be reached at daveandrusko@hotmail.com